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A number of years back, installing my own personal rebellion against New Years’ Resolutions, I instead decided to go with a mantra for the year. I discovered my power of self-fulfilling prophecy and finally decided that I better start using my powers for good before I got my ass kicked by Karma.

My first mantra was “Just Say No.” I was making out with a lot of guys back then which wasn’t getting me anywhere so I thought I would be selective for a change. It seemed that my selection process that year only improved slightly as I realized I was attracting a puzzling pattern of undependable and unreliable cads all named Mike (present company excluded)). So the following year, my obvious mantra was to ” Just say no…to Mikes”.

I started to notice something.

This mantra idea seemed to actually work and helped me improve my less-than-questionable decision-making abilities. What if I had a more positive mantra? What would happen then?

My new mantra was ” No regrets”. Every time I came to a moment where a particularly weighty decision had to be made, I asked myself the question, “will I regret doing this?” or ‘will I regret not doing this?” This one still stands as my most powerful and effective mantra to date.

After that, things really started to change in my life. I felt liberated as I became more confident in my life choices. I took some big chances that were all part and parcel of where I am today.

Somewhere along my journey, I started writing things down. Not consciously or deliberately, but at different times for different reasons I started writing down things that I wanted in my life. I never thought much of it as it was usually an activity driven by some sort of program or workshop I was in, but then sometimes well over a year or two later I would come across what I had written and they all had something in common. Everything I wrote down came true.

Seriously? Yes, seriously.

Even my list of what I wanted in a mate came true. I had several dozen qualities and traits on that list… I had “teeth” on that list three times, as it’s been a running joke with my friends for years…”I just want a man with teeth”. Would it surprise you if I told you that my “significant other” met every single item on that list, and that he is obsessed with his teeth? True story. The only thing I didn’t ask for was that special someone be in my own country, so now my desired mate lives over 3000 miles away. Well played Karma, well played. I can’t help but laugh with the old dame!

The power of the written word really hit home this summer when I came across some “work” I had done about five years ago in a program called the “Pursuit of Excellence”. One of our activities was to work on a relationship that we would like to improve, (actually was more like what we should improve, as at that point I did didn’t really like the idea) . Not having talked to my father for the better part of 20 years, I figured it was a good place to start. I wrote down what I would like the relationship to look like, not really believing it could happen, or not wanting to as I didn’t want to set my self up for yet another disappointing and painful attempt at mending this broken thread.

I wrote down unlikely things like, “become friends”, “create new memories” and something highly unlikely like “take a road trip together”.

I was stunned as I read this.

Two summers ago, my dad came to visit me and stayed for 7 weeks. He drove with my friend Sandy and I for twelve hours each way and so we could run a half marathon in Anchorage. I am not daddy’s little girl yet, but now communicate a few times a year, by phone, email and even Facebook. It’s a start. It’s a relationship that I never thought could be repaired.

Coincidence? I think not. It has happened far too many times for it to be so. Not only is there power in my spoken word, but written too? Holy crap. It’s time to write things down.

Something happens when we write things down, intended or not. Can you think of a time where you wrote something down a long time ago, and you come across it later and it has actually come true? What would happen if you actually wrote down what you want to have happen for yourself in your own life?

Are you going to write it down…or wait to get your ass-kicked my karma?

3 Responses to “Ass-Kicked by Karma”

Blissipline! What a great concept! My husband and I have been writing down what we want to accomplish in 2014…but it’s just a big “to do” list that will take the rest of our lives. I’m gonna reframe it. I’m going to rethink parts of it that aren’t grunt work “to do” and put them in a “We will fulfill this dream” mode…

I couldn’t remember where I’d read this and started writing down my goals for the year and ended up with twenty and then this showed up in my inbox. I read before when you posted on FB. That’s a lot of goals but they felt right.